Terrie's Mac 'n' Cheese

    Many people have asked for this recipe. It comes from Bucky's sister-in-law Terrie, Pete's wife. Terrie uses two sticks of butter, so you might want to use more than Bucky's one. Up to you. But you cannot skimp on the cheese. If you do, it won't be Terrie's Mac 'n' Cheese, and you'll be sorry.

Ingredients
    2 tablespoons vegetable oil
    1 1 lb box of elbow macaroni
    1 stick of butter (second stick optional)
    1 lb of Velveeta® Brand processed imitation cheese-like food substitute
    2 lbs yellow sharp cheddar cheese
        (Terrie buys hers preshredded, Bucky shreds his.)

    Preheat oven to 350.
    Bring a big pot of water with the vegetable oil in it to a boil. Put in the macaroni and turn it down a bit and gently boil the macaroni for 15 or 20 minutes. Stir now and then to help keep it loose.
    While the macaroni is cooking, slather a good bit of the butter in a casserole or baking dish. You need a casserole or baking dish at least 12 by 10 by 2, bigger if you have it. Cut six or eight thin pats of butter and place them in the dish as well.
    When the macaroni is cooked soft--no al dente here, it needs to get soft--pour it into a colander to drain. Spread out a thin layer of macaroni in the dish. Spread on a thin layer of cheese, then six or eight fairly thin slices of Velveeta. Dot with butter. Repeat with mac/cheese/velveeta/butter until all ingredients are in the dish. The idea is to get everything fairly well mixed. Make the thinnest layers you can stand to; the more the better.
    Cover with foil and bake half an hour. Uncover and bake another half hour. The top shouldn't burn, but Terrie's Mac 'n' Cheese has to bake quite a while to get that thick half burned crust on the bottom. Yum.

    Experiments have shown that bacon bits, chopped ham, garlic and paprika all add interesting flavors, but many people prefer the plain unvarnished model. How about side orders of bacon, sausage and ham from Mauer and Miller of Manchester? Really double yum!